''Rubus durescens'' is a rare British species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

. It is native to England, where the entire global distribution of this bramble is found only within the southern half of the county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. It occurs in hedges, shrubs, wood and heathy areas, and was first described and named in 1892 by the Derbyshire botanist William Richardson Linton. Linton placed an illustration of the plant in gold leaf on the cover of the 1903 version of '' The Flora of Derbyshire'', of which he was the sole author.

Description and distribution

''Rubus durescens'' has deep pink flowers and, according to Linton, "occurs in plenty over an area of some five miles by four to the north and east of

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

". He recorded the species between

Ambergate Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent, and where the A610 road from Ripley and Nottingham joins the A6 that runs along the Derwent valley between Derby to the south and Matlock ...

and

Whatstandwell Whatstandwell is a village on the River Derwent in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It is about five miles south of Matlock and about four miles north of Belper. Whatstandwell railway station is located on the Derby-Matlock ...

in the north of its range, through Bradley Wood and Duffield in the centre, down to between

Church Broughton Church Broughton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, to the west of Derby. It has a church ( Saint Michael and All Angels) and a Methodist chapel (1828). Badway Green is a piece of common land within the parish.Commons Registration A ...

and

Sutton on the Hill Sutton-on-the-Hill is a parish in south Derbyshire eight miles (13 km) west of Derby. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 123. The village is widely spread out and contains both a church (which, unlike most of the ...

in the southern part of its range. The 1969 version of ''The Flora of Derbyshire'', by A.R.Clapham, also noted the plant in Bradley Wood as well as near Cross o' th' Hands. The 2015 version of ''The Flora of Derbyshire'' noted that the plant's range had remained unchanged, listing locations at Mugginton Sand Quarry,

Nether Heage Heage is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated midway between Belper and Ripley in the Amber Valley district. The village is in the Heage and Ambergate ward, which in the 2011 census had a population of 5,013. Heage is known for its six- ...

Lower Hartshay Lower Hartshay is a small village in the Amber Valley District, in the English county of Derbyshire. It is on Hartshay Brook and near the A38 road. The nearest town is Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Riple ...

and Swanwick.

Conservation status

Although many microspecies have no formal conservation status in the UK, Cheffings and Farrell in their 2005 ''Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain'' suggested that all populations of local endemics such as ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these ...

'' should, when found in fewer than five 10 km (6.2 miles) × 10 km squares, be considered as "threatened". As a result, ''Rubus durescens'' is now included on the 2015 ''Derbyshire Vascular Plant Red Data List'' in the category "Nationally Rare".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q22285593 durescens Endemic flora of England